I’ve been so happy with the custom-fitted driver I got this past summer, I figured only good could
come of taking the plunge and getting fitted for a new set of irons.

I had no idea how right I
would turn out to be.

Now, as the golf season
draws to a close in the Northeast, I find myself swooning over my
newly-acquired, custom-fitted irons.I also find myself perusing the internet in search of discount deals to warm-weather
golf destinations – anything to extend the honeymoon with the new love of
my golfing life.

Why am I going ga-ga over new set of irons?

Because there is a sudden
and noticeable improvement in my iron game. Thanks to a combination of the process of
custom-fitting and my switch to a set of game-improving TaylorMade Burner 2.0 irons, I am
hitting the ball a few yards farther, a little higher, and there is an
unmistakable and much-appreciated forgiveness when I slightly mishit a shot.

A little background

My iron game, which has been
adequate at best for the past couple of years, was getting increasingly iffy
all summer.

Sure, I could fault my
swing, which is no longer the well-oiled, finely-tuned picture of perfection
that I like to believe it once was.But why not lay some of the blame at the feet of the irons I’d been
playing for the past four or five years: Mizuno
Cut Muscle MP-60s?

Mizuno, of
course, is one of the premier manufacturers of irons, especially their top-of-the-line
stuff.Nobody in their right mind
would dispute that fact.If
anything, Mizuno has earned a
reputation as a "player’s iron," favored by plenty of pros and top amateurs.

Although I am neither a pro
nor a top amateur, I can tell you with some authority that a perfectly-struck
shot with a Mizuno Cut Muscle MP-60 iron
feels like a dream.It feels so
good it’ll send chills up your spine.

But I can also tell you that
on even the slightest mishit – anything less than a perfect, sweet-spot connection
– can feel like you clanked a shovel against the side of an Army tank,
sending shivers up your spine and down your arms.The negative feedback is instantaneous, right
down to the dead-buzzard flight of the ball.

I knew my Mizunos and I had
come to the end of our journey together during a round in September, when my
cart mate (I barely knew him) made some variation of the following observation after
pretty much every shot I hit: "That didn’t sound good.Did you get all of it?"

Problem was, well, yeah, on
most of those shots, I did get all of it – or about as much as I was ever
going to get.

The search for new irons

Within days of that round, I
was investigating the latest offerings in irons from all the manufacturers.The choices were mind-boggling.

About the only thing I knew
for sure was that getting a set of blades was out of the question.Regardless of the manufacturer, blades
are so unforgiving that even many PGA
Tour players have abandoned them in favor of perimeter-weighted irons.

I was also not wedded to any
particular manufacturer.Over the
years, before my Mizunos,
I’ve owned and played just about
every brand at one time or another: Clevelands (two sets), Titleists, Callaways, Hogans and Wilson Staffs.All I
knew was that this time around I wanted – needed – irons that were more forgiving and less judgmental
than my current set.

As it happened, that very
week I got an email from TaylorMade touting their latest game-improvement irons that
were about to hit the market, the Burner
2.0. Intrigued, I clicked
on the link and watched a video featuring Bret
Wahl, senior director of iron research at TaylorMade, explaining why the Burner 2.0s were "breakthrough"
technology.I liked what I saw.

What closed the deal for me
was a phone conversation with a longtime colleague at TaylorMade.This is a no-BS guy and he assured me
the early feedback the company was getting on the Burner 2.0s was very positive.

By the end of that week, I
was on the range at Manufacturer’s Golf
& Country Club, getting fitted under the watchful eye of a young
assistant pro named LowenLermitte.

First off, to determine
whether I needed stiff or regular shafts, Lowen he had me take a few cuts
to loosen up.Then he handed me
something called the Speed Stik, which is basically a golf club without the head;
instead, down at the tip, there is device that measures your swing speed.

Last time I got measured,
which was several years ago, my swing speed with a driver was 104 miles per
hour.That’s well below the average
Tour player (113) and nowhere close
to the longest hitters (Tiger is 120-130).This time, Speed Stik had me consistently in the
93-95 mph range, which means I still need stiff shafts – but just barely.

Lowen
handed me a 6-iron with a stiff shaft and pulled out what looked like a
clipboard, or like one of those little rubber tee mats you see at a Putt-Putt course.Next, Lowen put a special kind of tape
along the sole of the 6-iron and had me hit several balls off the
clipboard.Where the sole of the
club made contact with the clipboard, the tape was scraped and darkened.

To the trained fitter, the
scrapes on the tape indicate whether my new irons should be the standard lie or
whether they needed to be bent slightly upright or flat. I’m 6-foot-1 so the presumption is that,
if anything, I would need clubs that are a degree or two upright.The scraped tape clearly revealed otherwise.Despite my height, I actually needed
irons that were 1-degree flat.

After I hit a couple of
dozen balls with the stiff steel shafts, I told Lowen I wanted to try the stiff shaft
in graphite.He shook his head,
like it was a bad idea."You’ll
like the steel better," he said.

Still, I wanted to give the
graphite a try, if only to see for myself.Ten balls into the graphite experiment, I handed the club back to Lowen.He was right.The steel shafts had a better feel, and
I swear there was less dispersion to the shot pattern.

The irons arrive

When the Burner 2.0s arrived late one afternoon about
a month later, there was still enough light to take them for a spin.I only got in seven holes before dark,
but it was enough to give me a sense that I was going to be very pleased.

I played my first full round
with new irons the next week, at Bidermann
GC near Wilmington.It was then that I fully came to
appreciate what I had stumbled into.

Early on in the round at Bidermann, I hit
mostly short irons into par 4s and a three-shot par 5.I liked the way the ball sounded jumping
off the club, and there was none of that clanky
sensation I got with my old irons on a slight mishit.

The most convincing evidence
– and the shot of the day -- came at the 8th , which at Bidermann is a
picturesque, 190-yard downhill par 3.I pulled my 5-iron, for what would be the debut shot with the longest
iron I carry.I made a good pass at
the ball-- good, not perfect --
but it felt as flush as if Ben Hogan
had hit it.

When I looked up, I was
watching a rocket, dead straight, and the ball was flying considerably higher
than I usually hit long irons.I
could play 10 rounds with my old irons and never hit a shot that felt that good,
that solid.And it didn’t just look
and feel good, it was good.The ball
landed on the back of the green, took one hop and stopped about 20 feet from
the hole.

One of the truisms of golf
is that, if you are on good terms with your long irons, the other irons fall
into line, like baby ducks. The
rest of that round, and in three or four rounds since, things have only gotten
better between me and my new irons.

I’m not foolish enough to
think this honeymoon will necessarily last forever.I’ve got about a dozen putters in
various stages of "time out" in my basement now that prove otherwise.These new irons could eventually betray
me, just like those putters did.

For now, however, and
hopefully well into the future, we are happy together.I have to close now, because I
want to look for more discount golf trips online.

The real triumph will come if you can beat Dan/Cole on a regular basis.

Fran21356

[12/15/2010 6:27:04 AM]

Thanks Joe.

Joe Logan

[12/14/2010 8:49:43 PM]

Fran - These days, the cost of custom-fitting is usually included in the price of the clubs. But if your plan is to get fitted at a chain store or a private club, then buy the clubs online, the store will usually charge you a fee for the fitting (about $50).

fran21356

[12/14/2010 5:20:59 AM]

Congratulations on the new custome fit sticks. Nothing better than the feeling that you made the right decision. I’ll have to do the same thing when I get some extra cash. i’d love to have fitted clubs. Does it add much to the cost of the clubs to be fitted?

This time of year, when the
fall colors are at their richest, nature offers few places more spectacular
than golf courses, especially here in the Northeast.

That’s why when photographer
Dan Husted and I were kicking around
ideas for MyPhillyGolf’s
first photo essay
a few weeks ago, we decided he should take advantage of the season’s changing
colors.

We considered several
courses, each abundant with deciduous trees, before Dan ultimately settled on Jeffersonville
GC, the Donald Ross-designed municipal course operated by West Norriton Township.

Dan had his
reasons.First, there is his
fondness for Jeffersonville as a
course he plays regularly (14.4 handicap).Second, he knew it had plenty of precisely the kind of trees he needed
to make the best photographs.

Fact is, Dan already had begun building a photo
archive of Jeffersonville.It also didn’t hurt that he had come to
know and like the staff at Jeffersonville,
and he thought they would be enthusiastic about his project. He was right.

By way of introduction, Dan spent 15 years as a professional
photographer in New York City, before moving to Philadelphia seven years
ago.In New York, he shot for
prominent advertising agencies and design firms, on assignments that took him
around the world.

Since moving to
Philadelphia, Dan has begun
concentrating on golf photography, for books and magazines.His clients have included the U.S. Golf Association, the U.S. Open program, Golf magazine, Senior Golf
Magazine, Links magazine and Perry Golf.

For more on Dan, his work and his complete list ofclients, check out DanHusted.com.

"I’ve always referred to
myself as a picture taker, not a picture maker," says Dan. "I let the situation at hand guide me.I think it creates a more spontaneous
final image."

The Wilmington
News-Journalconfirms the suspicions I reported
here yesterday.The 73-year-old
club, which began life as a club for the executives of the former chemical
company Hercules Inc., will close
its doors for good at the end of the year.

For all practical purposes, the club is already
closed.As noted here yesterday,
when a group of golfers showed up to play the course on Friday after
Thanksgiving, they found the driveway barricaded, the doors locked and the
utilities seemingly shut off.The
phone has also been disconnected.

In the News-Journal
story, Ron Holliday, owner of Delaware National, said he could no
longer afford to pay the $20,000 a monthly electric bill.

Even before the power was shut off, Holliday had decided to close the club.

"The
decision was made a while ago that it was no longer feasible to continue to
operate," Holliday told the News-Journal.

Delaware National is the second club to close in Delaware this year.In August, Pike Creek GC, formerly Three
Little Bakers, shut down.

Yesterday, I got an email
from a golfer who played the course on Tuesday before Thanksgiving.When he and several golf buddies
returned on Friday for their annual post-Thanksgiving round, they say the driveway
was barricaded, the doors were locked and the utilities appeared to be shut
off.

I’ve called Delaware National several times and the
phone also appears to be shut off.

Late this afternoon, an
official from the Philadelphia PGA
Section confirmed that he, too, is hearing that Delaware National has closed.

Three weeks ago, I was delighted
to announce that Golfnow.com,
our partner in the discount tee time business, had upgraded MyPhillyGolf.com to from an "area
specific," or local, booking engine to a "national" booking engine.

In other words, if you take
golf trips or vacations, you can use the Golfnow.com portal on
MyPhillyGolf to book discounted tee
times in places like Scottsdale, Pinehurst and plenty of other golf
destinations.

Unfortunately, what was
missing at the time was any participation by courses in one of the most popular
golf destinations on the East Coast: Myrtle
Beach.

That changed today, when we
got word that many Myrtle Beach
courses have now signed on with Golfnow.com.More courses, more choices.

While the members of LuLu Country Club voted to give their board the go-ahead to finalize the sale of the
club to Hansen Properties, Inc. last
Thursday, the deal is not yet done.

In fact, as a couple of readers have pointed
out in emails, Upper Dublin Township
has the "right of first refusal."What that means, in layman’s terms, is that Upper Dublin Township has the right to match the offer to LuLu CC.

That is true, confirmed to me by LuLu CC president Paul Muller and Upper Dublin
Township manager Paul Leonard.What I can’t figure out is what
motivation the township might have to nix the deal and buy LuLu.

Although the LuLu clubhouse and golf course,
a classic Donald Ross design, sit on
a 115 acres of desirable and bucolic property, the chance of it being turned
over to developers is zero.It was
the desire to keep the property as undeveloped "open space" that prompted Upper Dublin Township to pay LuLu $2.25
million in 2009 for the future development rights.

The Open Space Plan identified 51 open space parcels as vulnerable
to development and prioritized protections for each, placing them in one of
four categories (in declining order of importance) "conservation/protection
easements," "action," "interest" and "watch" depending on their significance in
meeting the open space needs and objectives. While this is a somewhat fluid
list, care should be taken to focus on primary conservation and recreation
needs when purchasing properties or easements. The Township should continue to
pursue purchase of land, and when possible conservation easements, for
properties identified on the priority lists. Where appropriate, it should seek
to partner with other government entities and conservation groups to leverage
bond funds in such purchases. The locations of parcels included in the Open
Space Plan priority lists are shown in figure 4.4.

2.CONTINUE
TO WORK PROACTIVELY TO CONSERVE THE PRIVATELY-OWNED GOLF COURSES AS
RECREATIONAL USES

In
September 2009, the Township acquired the development rights for the 115-acre
Lulu Country Club for $2.25 million. The
agreement between Upper Dublin and Lulu permits the club to continue to operate
as a private golf course and prohibits future development, including subdivision.
by selling only the development rights – not the property, Lulu is able
to continue using it, while enabling the Township to protect 115 acres at a
considerably lower cost than outright purchase of the land.

With development
"off the table," as township manager Leonard
told me, I can’t think of any other motivation Upper Dublin Township might have to exercise its right of first
refusal.Unless, of course, Upper Dublin Township fancies taking
over LuLu CC for the purpose of running it as a
municipal course.

From my emails
and phone conversations with people in the know, I am not getting any sense
whatsoever that Upper Dublin Township
has any desire to get deeper into the golf course-owning and –running
business than it already is.(Upper
Dublin Township owns Twining Valley GC, which is leased and operated by the Riley family.)

Bottom line: I’m
not saying the LuLu CC sale to Hansen Properties is a sure thing.But if it falls through, I’d very
surprised if it is because of anything Upper
Dublin Township does.

I am not sure why UDT would want to hinder a sale to Hansen Properties. It only stands to protect their "investment" in preserving the open space easement that they sold. UDT didn’t "bail" anybody out. The dollars spent from the Open Space Fund were used for their intended purpose, to preserve the open space. It seems to me that if the members of LuLu are looking for ways to help the Township keep a beautiful piece of land beautiful, it sounds like a no brainer, and I thank them for trying to keep Upper Dublin attractive. I say let Hansen help too.

LuLu Golfer

[12/20/2010 10:41:55 AM]

UD Taxpayers’ premise is false. For $2MM, the township received something very valuable, not "nothing" as purported. That "something" is 115 acres of open space in perpetuity. Had LuLu members sold the club for development, they would have received many times this consideration, but they preferred to preserve it forever for their golfing enjoyment rather than make a large profit & golf elsewhere.

Another UD Tax Payer

[12/18/2010 6:02:18 AM]

I agree with UD Tax Payer, except I think the township should take over LuLu and run it as a municipal course.

UD Tax Payer

[12/17/2010 5:34:08 PM]

The reason UD Taxpayers would want to exercise the option to claim the property is because they already paid $2.25 million dollars to bailout a country club and have nothing to show for it. The taxpayers should demand the township take it over and open it up as a public park. At least they’d then have something to show for their hard earned money.

Jules Mermelstein

[11/30/2010 11:17:36 AM]

The school is school property, not for general public use. There is no place for the residents (who have complained about not having usable open space within walking distance), which include me, to enjoy public open space without driving to it.

Jules Mermelstein

[11/29/2010 12:36:29 PM]

Are you aware that, unlike most places in UD, there is no public open space near the homes near Lulu to which families can walk? Another open space recommendation is to make sure there is public open space within 1/4 mile of all homes in UD. I am not saying the Board will purchase Lulu. This comment is just in response to your statement, "What I can’t figure out is what motivation the township might have to nix the deal and buy LuLu."

If you’re a fan of the PGA Radio Network on XM/Sirius (Channel 146 on XM, 209 on Sirius), the
news is not good.

In his weekly Up & Down column at CBSSports.com,
Steve Elling
reports that the network will likely be a goner in 2011.A source tells Elling that the PGA Tour has been getting $4 million a
year for the radio rights, and that "the folks running XM/Sirius aren’t much interested in continuing beyond this year."

Besides the rights fees, XM/Sirius is also on the hook for the
salaries of their hosts and the folks do the live broadcasts from tournaments
each week, not to mention the expense of keeping them on the road.

Alas, if Elling is correct, we too will
miss the morning chat shows on the network, especially Making the Turn with Peter
Kessler, where I am a semi-regular guest.